


Learned It The Hard Way

by nonaestheticwhore



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Afterlife, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Five Stages of Grief, Grief/Mourning, Horror, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:15:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29824113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonaestheticwhore/pseuds/nonaestheticwhore
Summary: Title from Growing Pains by Strange CaseTommy is just a kid. He doesn't want to die.[Will be removed if a content creator expresses discomfort]
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 6
Kudos: 108





	Learned It The Hard Way

**Author's Note:**

> I am putting a trigger warning on this fic because it is a more realistic telling of Tommy's death including what Dream does after. Please don't read this if extreme violence and gore disturbs you.

Fists collided with Tommy's face over and over as he tried to raise his arms to protect himself. Everything hurt. His fists, his stomach, his face, his throat.

He had been screaming for Sam. For Phil. For Wilbur, Tubbo, Techno, Puffy. Anyone to get him out. He just wanted out. It was too cramped and Dream was right above him. The taste of blood was thick on his tongue, he could feel it dripping down his face. He couldn't see anything except for glimpses of an orange shirt and that stupid mask. 

"Dream stop! Please!" He pleaded, "Please, I've only got-"

His sentence is cut off with the rough bottom of a boot hitting his throat and pressing down, cutting off his airflow. His hands flew to Dream's leg and clawed at it in a desperate attempt to get him off. He pressed harder.

"You're so fucking annoying, you know that? You were much better in exile when you knew how to shut up and listen." Dream sneers. 

The older man had blood smeared across his mask, either from Tommy hitting him back or Tommy's own blood splattering against him. Dream reaches down and pulls at Tommy's face, forcefully contorting his eyes and mouth. Tommy screamed as dirty hands touched the open wounds that adorned his face. He tried to kick at the taller man, trying anything he could to get away, but Dream was stronger than him. He kept pulling at Tommy's face as if he were nothing more than some ragdoll.

"You should just shut up, everyone would like you more then! I should sew your god damn mouth shut, maybe then you'll learn some fucking respect." Dream's laugh echoes through the small room, being muffled by the lava.

One of Dream's hands grabs his jaw and parts of his face, squeezing as hard as he could and watching as new tears fall from Tommy's eyes. His laugh only gets louder as he reels his fist back and starts hitting the teen again. Tommy wails.

He wants Wilbur. He wants Tubbo. God, even Phil or Techno. He wants **Sam**. Sam promised he would be safe. He promised nothing would happen to him. 

Tommy's eyes briefly catch sight of the small golden bracelet that adorned his wrist. The gem in the middle seemed to almost glow in the light coming from the lava. His mind wanders back to when Techno had given the three of them the matching gems, Tommy had teased him for weeks, but refused to take the bracelet off. Even through his exile, he never once considered removing it from his enderchest. 

Dream grows bored of just hitting Tommy, his hands wrap around the boys throat and he squeezes. He loves the fear that appears in his eyes. He squeezes harder.

Tommy is begging for someone- anyone- to come help him. His voice is raspy as his body tries to get oxygen. His vision starts getting fuzzy as he begs Dream to stop, the tips of his fingers go numb. He's so scared. He doesn't want to die. He's just a kid. **He doesn't want to die.**

Far away, three people jolt and look at each other in panic.

"You felt it too?" Phil asks, looking at Techno and Ghostbur.

Techno doesn't reply, he's already pulling his communicator out.

"Wh-what was that?" Ghostbur asks, shaking from the force of whatever just happened.

Phil looks at him, sorrow planted on his face, "It's the emeralds, they connect the four of us and sends a sort of alert when one of us is hurt."

Before Ghostbur can ask anything else, Techno slams his communicator on the table so harshly that the screen shatters.

"Techno?!" Ghostbur yelps.

"...He's gone," Techno's voice sounds strained as if he was trying to keep his emotions under control.

"Who's gone?" Phil asks, not wanting his mind to jump to conclusions.

Techno turns and punches the nearest wall, "Tommy! He's gone!"

"What do you-"

"Dream beat him to death!" Techno roars, interrupting Phil.

"B-But how...? I thought- Isn't Dream supposed to be locked up?" Ghostbur sounds like he's going to cry.

Phil takes a deep breath, there was no way Dream had actually done it, "Why don't we go find out what really happened?"

The three of them find Sam outside of the prison surrounded by Tubbo, Ranboo, and Jack. When they get closer, they can see the tears that drip down Sam's face, his mask having been pulled down to hang around his neck.

"What happened?" Techno demands as soon as they get within distance.

Everyone looks over to them and Sam looks even more heartbroken when he locks eyes with Phil.

"I'm- God I'm so sorry..." Sam murmurs, "I couldn't protect him... I'm sorry..."

Ghostbur laughs, though it's shaky, "This is just a joke right? Tommy's not really dead... right...?"

Sam can't look the ghost in the eye.

"You better explain." Techno hisses.

"I-I tried to get to him," Sam's voice breaks, "I didn't think Dream would actually- …by the time I got to the entrance, he had already..."

"There's no way." Tubbo says, "Where's his body then?"

Sam winces, "I- There's no way for me to get it right now... I wish I could, but it would risk letting Dream get out and I can't let that happen..."

"Why not?!" Techno yells.

"He..." Sam hesitates, "Dream threatened Tubbo… If he got out, it would basically secure Tubbo's death. I'm sorry, but I can't risk anyone else."

"Can... can I see him?" Phil asks quietly.

Sam nods, "I can't let you into the cell, but I can let you view the cameras."

The three teens were refused entrance, much to their immediate annoyance. The four made their way inside the prison and to the control room.

"It's very dark," Phil notices.

"You get used to it," Sam mumbles.

He gets the monitors running before looking back at the three, "It's not a pretty sight and I don't know what he's done since I've been gone."

Techno clenches his fists as Phil sets his shoulders and takes a deep breath. Sam clicks through the cameras before landing on the one pointed into Dream's cell. Ghostbur wants to throw up.

Dream has Tommy's limp body in his arms and he's waltzing around the room, humming a familiar tune. Tommy's neck is loose, his head tilted backwards to face the camera. He's got blood smeared across his face, his nose is crooked, and he has cuts and bruises littering his skin. His neck has dark purple bruises that are in the shape of Dream's hands.

None of this compares to Tommy's eyes, Phil thinks. His normally sky blue eyes are a pale grey and bloodshot. Phil can't look at the screen anymore.

There is blood drenching Tommy and Dream as well as the rest of the room. Dream sports his own bruises and cuts. His arms are nearly shredded, crude marks that have yet to stop bleeding. Techno knows that if he were to look, he'd find bits of Dream's skin under Tommy's fingernails. 

Dream's gaze snaps from Tommy to the camera as if he knew he was being watched. He always knows when he's being watched. 

He lets out a laugh so horrific that Ghostbur slaps his hands over his ears.

"Don't you think he's much better silent?" Dream taunts, "No more disrespect! He's a perfect toy now, so easy to bend to my will."

As if to prove his point, Dream grabs a tuft of Tommy's hair and jerks his head to the left. The four watch as Dream is overcome by a fit of rage. He drops Tommy's body and starts pulling at his face, stretching it as far as it would go. He grabs Tommy's wrists and pulls his arms to unnatural positions before prying Tommy's eyes open even wider.

Dream starts mumbling, so quiet they can barely hear him and they really wish they couldn't, "Mine... Mine... Mine... All mine... What a perfect toy, such pretty bruises..."

Sam shuts the monitor off, he can't watch that anymore. None of them speak.

Tommy thinks he should be dead. No- he knows he should be dead. There is no way in hell he survived what Dream was doing to him.

A bright light stings his eyes and it takes him a few seconds to adjust to the change. He's in a pure white room. Everything is white, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the furniture. He looks around, blinking rapidly to continue adjusting to the light.

He can hear voices somewhere in the distance.

"Can you shut up for five minutes?! Dear lord, why did I have to get stuck with you two for the rest of time?" Was that... Schlatt...?

"Aye man, don't hate," There was no way.

Tommy starts walking towards the voices. If Schlatt and Mexican Dream were in this place, then that had to mean...

He turns a corner and comes face to face with three people. They all look towards him, but he only looks at one of them.

"Tommy...?" Wilbur says softly, "Why are you...?"

Tears fill his eyes as he throws himself into Wilbur. Arms wrap around him as Wilbur whispers words of comfort to him. Not even Schlatt can say anything, too shocked to see the loud mouth kid who helped take him down this broken.

Here in Wilbur's arms, Tommy finally feels safe. There is nothing that can be done for him, he is dead.

He can only hope everyone can learn to forgive themselves, for his sake.


End file.
